the Birstall post Y O U R
C O M M U N I T Y
FEBRUARY 2017
N E W S P A P E R
www.birstallpost.co.uk
No. 403
Museum will double visitor numbers THESE ARE the latest images of the £18 million railway museum that will be built at the Leicester North station of the GCR. The museum is expected to double the number of visitors to the GCR from 130,000 annually to 250,000 and contribute £44million to the local economy. The building, designed by architectural practice Wilkinson Eyre, will house locomotives from the collec-
Street lights on FIVE STREET lights on Sibson Road will be returned to all night operation following a spate of burglaries in December. Eight businesses on Sibson Road were burgled in a single night on DecemContinued on page 2
Electrician Registered part P
Pic: a view of the museum from the Station Road bridge
tion at the National Railway Museum in York.
The new building will be constructed opposite the existing Leicester North station building, which will be retained. It will have three two-storey exhibition halls and a glass wall will allow visitors arriving by train to see into the museum. Andy Munro, Chief Executive of the Great Central Railway, said: “This is an important project for the Great Central Railway and represents a new chapter in the 50 year life of the railway. It will help us to further the preservation of the heritage of the GCR whilst at the same time create a new tourist attraction in Leicester, contributing to the ongoing regeneration of the city.” The finished museum will see the construction of an additional platform and a turntable big enough for the largest locomotives. “Like many new designs, our museum will take time to get used to” said Roger Shelley, the museum’s head curator. “It doesn’t try to hide or blend into the landscape – quite the opposite – its elevated position gives spectacular views out to the city and its landmarks. The museum will give us the home we need to shout our story – the significance of the Great Central, the powerful upheaval that railways brought to Leicestershire, the wonder of the workings of railways and locomotives that we all share, and what it means to work on, and with railways, both in the past and today.” He added: “The museum will act as a beacon, visible from a considerable distance – during the day, enhanced by ‘gateway’ locomotives parked on the front concourse, and at night, from the south, with dramatic lighting. It will need many hours of hard work and effort, the support of you as residents, and we are particularly interested to hear from potential volunteers to research themes and objects. “We’re optimistic that the scheme will meet the requirements of the Heritage Lottery Fund, and when finished it will give the Great Central Railway and people of Leicester the first purpose-built railway museum in Britain.” To enquire about volunteering contact museum@gcrrailway.co.uk
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